E-Newsletter No. 130 October 2024
As Dennis Prager explains in the following video, one of the most important differences between the Left and the Right is how each regards the role and the size of the government – https://youtu.be/sxe5GcMH5yA
This is one of the most important issues that our country’s citizens face in connection with this year’s elections. Leftists (especially the elitists) believe there should be no power that competes with the government. Conservatives believe the government’s role in society should be limited to absolute necessities. They want a government so small you can barely see it. This is also what the Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution is all about. Thomas Paine (in his pamphlet entitled Common Sense) explained that civil society is a blessing and promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections. The reason for government is entirely different. Government is needed to restrain our vices. Government is but a necessary evil, and in its worst state an intolerable one. Unfortunately, as governments grow in size and power, this inevitably leads to ever-increasing amounts of corruption. Big Government eats away at the moral character of a nation.
In the past, we have talked about the need for an Article V Convention of States. Congress will not put forward any amendments that will rein in our out-of-control Federal government. Each of the three planks in the COS Resolution is vitally important, including the need for Term Limits and Fiscal Responsibility. However, the third plank – to restrict the size and scope of the Federal government might be the most important one of all. And of course, this is the primary reason why Leftists are adamantly opposed to the Convention of States initiative.
Unfortunately, our country’s politics is causing a growing divide between Democrats and Republicans. Actually, one of the main causes of the divide is embedded in the names of the two parties. Republicans accept the wisdom of our country’s founders, who wrote our US Constitution and established a Constitutional Republic. We pledge allegiance to the flag and to the republic for which it stands. When asked what the delegates to the Constitutional Convention had come up with, Benjamin Franklin responded “A republic, if you can keep it.” The radical Left despises the Constitution and the limits it places on the government.
Democrats, on the other hand, want “democracy.” Our country’s Founders were opposed to the idea of a Mobocracy, where 51% rule over the other 49%. A Constitutional Republic has checks and balance and separations of power. Our country continues to use democratic principles, such as voting and passing laws based on the will of the majority. However, history has shown that a pure Democracy is a poor choice for a government. Alexander Fraser Tytler (a Scottish historian from the 1700s) said, “A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time the voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy…” Yep.
US Debt Clock – – September 1st – $104,575 per citizen / October 1st – $105,000